Microscopes designed primarily for toy or hobby uses or for educating novice users such as school children should be relatively low cost, durable and easy to operate. However, many current microscopes built to meet these criteria are limited in function and possess relatively poor optics. Moreover, they are often unduly complex and expensive to manufacture. For example, certain microscopes of this type require multiple molds. Most also employ an eyepiece, stage and base which are separate and distinct elements and which must be interconnected by additional pieces and parts. Such construction is complicated and time-consuming and, as a result, the manufacturing cost and price of the microscope are increased considerably.
Many of the presently available elementary microscopes are also relatively difficult to operate satisfactorily. For example, achieving proper lighting of the specimen being viewed may pose several problems. Attaching a light source to the microscope adds to the complexity of the device and further necessitates a power source, e.g., an electrical outlet or batteries. Alternatively, an angularly adjustable mirror has been employed to reflect external sunlight, artificial lighting or ambient light to the specimen. However, proper positioning of the mirror is quite tedious and difficult to obtain and is easily disrupted particularly during use by school children or other novices. Fine adjustment of the eyepiece and stage sections to permit proper focussing is also often unsatisfactory. For example, there may be looseness or "play" between these pieces which complicates focussing. And, again, the proper focus tends to be easily disturbed, especially by an inexperienced or youthful operator such as a school child.